If “time flies when you are having fun,” I am having the time of my life. Mid-November. Yes, it’s already holiday season. A time to count our blessings, spend time with family, and support those with greater needs around us. At this point, many of us are deep into making lists: what to cook, what to buy, and for whom. Lists are great for keeping us organized, but they also reveal what we value most.

Manatee Community Foundation recently launched a most important one: The Giving Gallery, where giving meets greatest needs and showcases nonprofits’ wish lists for donors who want to fulfill them. It’s a living catalog of community priorities including housing, education, family stability, animal welfare, and beyond. Every project featured has been reviewed through our grantmaking process or invited for inclusion, so donors can be confident their gifts are well placed.

The Giving Gallery also creates a space where donors, investors, and partners can come together to champion the same cause – aligning their impact and amplifying the good we can do collectively.

Within days of introducing the Gallery, several requests were fully funded, including a $15,000 gift to Hope Family Services for technology upgrades, gifts to the Housing Empowerment Fund, designed to help local families find secure housing, to Parenting Matters’ operations, and to Manatee Performing Art Center’s new Sara’s Studios capital project. It’s been a joy to watch what can happen when generosity and opportunity meet, and these early successes have confirmed that this simple idea works. People are eager to make a difference when the path to doing so is clear.

One of MCF’s goals is to inspire philanthropy and make it accessible to everyone. The Giving Gallery is one more way we do that. It’s self-serve and constantly updated. It’s open to all. It also helps remove the mystery around giving and shows the difference each person can make in a concrete way. In every sense, it reflects our “why:’ to connect people and resources for a better Manatee.

And as we make our own lists this season, isn’t it the perfect time of year to think about the difference we can make for others? What if this Black Friday, we spent time around the post-Thanksgiving table browsing The Giving Gallery as a family? Giving together unites us, shows our loved ones we can do greater things together, and gets us in the very spirit of the holidays.

One of the most meaningful gifts I ever received was a friend’s donation to my favorite organization in my honor. It was unexpected, and it influenced my own family’s decision in making giving part of our holiday traditions. That moment also reminded me how powerful generosity can be, because it connects people. It turns gratitude into action. The Giving Gallery now gives everyone that same opportunity to make a gift in honor of someone else. And aren’t the best gifts the ones that touch more than one heart?

We talk often at MCF about democratizing philanthropy. Anyone can be a philanthropist, not only those who give through their estates or large funds. The Giving Gallery brings that idea to life. It’s a tool for every resident who wants to help, and for every nonprofit that could use a boost to keep doing good work.

I’m grateful to live in a community where compassion shows up so consistently. The people in this region have always cared for one another in practical, thoughtful ways, and The Giving Gallery makes that care visible. It gives us a shared space to act on the values we hold.

As the holiday season begins, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore The Giving Gallery. See what speaks to you and perhaps make a gift in honor of someone you love. I truly believe the future of Manatee County will be shaped not by what we have, but by what we share.

Veronica Thames is the CEO of Manatee Community Foundation.

To learn more, visit

As Florida Fall gifts us with 70-degree afternoons and earlier (yet still brilliant) sunsets, locals in Sarasota County know these are the hints of “season” – the return of our part-time residents and northern visitors alike, ready for sand over snow. This tourism peak stretching from late November through April–while it may be scoffed at by some–is eagerly anticipated by our local businesses. The latest data on tourism and its economic impact reveal why.

In September, our County experienced a 15.2% year-over-year drop in visitation, especially among in-state visitors and those within driving distance. Put into perspective, this meant a 12.5% decrease in direct local spending. These dollars – amounting to nearly $10 million – would traditionally flow into our mom-and-pop shops, our envy-of-the-world attractions, and our neighborhood restaurants.

Let’s stay on the topic of restaurants. Over the last month, our team at Visit Sarasota County has heard from several longstanding establishments that a quieter-than-normal Fall and reduced traffic have triggered conversations about tightening budgets and, for a handful, genuine concerns over sustaining operations. To these businesses, and countless others beyond the dining sector, tourism can be the difference between keeping the doors open or closing them, sometimes permanently.

Our tourism bureau, alongside our industry, remains focused on ensuring every dollar we invest in marketing our community truly moves the needle to compel the world to visit Sarasota County and, in turn, generate tax revenue that wouldn’t have otherwise happened but for our collective work.

Far from solely being a line item in our annual plan, responsiveness to local business needs is etched into the very framework of how we collaborate, promote our destination, and enrich our partner network now more than 450 organizations strong. Of those, more than 100 are restaurants, each relying upon us, our visitors, and yes – you, our locals – to not only fill tables but by extension keep residents on the payroll.

That’s why, when we received that call from our industry, we stepped up. We launched a new campaign, The Local Bite, which is encouraging two months of culinary discovery with compelling deals from local restaurants. Through December 20, you’ll find participating restaurants at www.FunInthe941.com sharing all kinds of dining promotions, from happy hours and seasonal menus to chef’s specials, prix fixe experiences, and limited-time offers.

Think of this as the Fall version of Savor Sarasota, yet with cooler weather and a dash of pumpkin spice (or peppermint). And let’s be honest, the holiday season could not be a more perfect time to drive interest and appetites – whether you’re partaking in trick-or-treating, tree lighting, or all the shopping sprees in between.

If you dine out this season, we invite you to promote your experience using #SavorThe941. And if you’re a local restaurant, we invite you to join our partnership program.

If you’d like a taste of what our top industry – tourism – has to offer you as a business owner or a resident, we’d be thrilled to host you at our Indicators & Insights Summit on November 18. This half-day gathering will feature a keynote by U.S. Travel’s VP of Political Affairs, Nicole Porter, among other best-in-business speakers and presentations on the future of travel’s economic impact, regionally and nationally. You can reserve your seat at https://visitsarasotacounty.ticketspice.com/visit-sarasota-county-indicators-insights-summit-2025.

From the tables of our local restaurants to the beaches that welcome millions, tourism is built by the hands – and meals – of our community. After all, tourism happens with us, not to us. And when our local businesses, restaurants, and residents move in step with our industry, we ensure Sarasota County’s shared growth and prosperity for years to come.

Erin Duggan is President & CEO of Visit Sarasota County. 

Photo courtesy of Visit Sarasota.